Jonah - 10
Jonah’s Prayer
The story of Jonah and his attempt to run away from God's will for him, of how he boarded a ship and how God sent a raging storm, and how eventually Jonah was thrown overboard to save the lives of the crew, and how Jonah was swallowed by a great fish sent by God, is probably one of the best known stories in the Bible. But it is not merely a story made up to teach us something. The story of Jonah is a true account of something that actually happened, and certainly it has much to teach us as we have been discovering. We know that these things really did happen because Jesus said so.
In chapter 2, then, we pick up the story as Jonah cries to the Lord from inside the great fish. Here is a man at the end of his resources. In chapter 1 we read of how he ran away from the will of God to preach his word in the wicked city of Nineveh. He has been disobedient to God and now he is facing the consequences. He finds himself in this horrible prison in the depths of the sea. Jonah knew full well why he was in this awful predicament. So we read in Jonah chapter 2 verses 1 and 2: "From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry."
Jonah had run away and now God was dealing with him so as to bring him back again. Jonah knew that he had been disobedient and the first result of God's dealings with him is that he prays. In the Psalms David refers to a great sin in his life and how after his sin he kept silent. He went through a most tormenting experience and this is recorded for us in Psalm 32. But in Psalm 51 we read how eventually David turned to God in prayer and found forgiveness for his sin.
On the boat, in the middle of the storm, Jonah had been asleep, but he certainly is not asleep now! Action is required and that action is to get back into touch with his God, to confess his disobedience and seek His forgiveness. In his extremity he calls to God for help. Humanly speaking his situation was hopeless, but in spite of this Jonah still had faith that God would deliver him.
Jonah's prayer reminds us of the words of John in 1 John 5 verse 4: "This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” Jonah's situation illustrates the conflict between sense, that is what is seen, and faith, that is what is not seen. The environment around him is oppressive and hostile. His senses and emotions are at their lowest ebb, but Jonah places himself at the mercy of the Lord. He looks to God to deliver him out of the depths of the grave as it were. As the hymn writer puts it: "Faith laughs at impossibilities and cries, It shall be done!” Paul teaches us that we do not walk by sight, but we walk by faith.
Sometimes we have to trust through times of darkness when we do not understand what is happening. For the Christian believer, trusting in God, there is the certain hope that God is working for the good of all who love Him. We read about Abraham that "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations. Just as had been said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.'“ (Romans 4 verse 18)
Abraham's hope did not rest on the circumstances or on his own reason but solely on the promise of God. Even when it seemed humanly impossible for a son to be born to Sarah he believed God's word to him. There is a determination about true faith.
We discover three things in this prayer of Jonah as he cries out to God from the depths. We see his situation, we see the one in control of the situation, and we see the effect on Jonah.
First then, the SITUATION. Never before had prayer been offered from such a strange place - the inside of a great fish! It is obvious from this prayer that Jonah was very familiar with the Psalms. He actually quotes from seven different Psalms as he prays. Here was a man who knew and loved his Bible and who knew the value of quoting Scripture in his prayers. These Psalms helped him to express his thoughts and longings to the Lord. There is a lesson for us in his example.
That great Christian commentator of a previous age, Matthew Henry, said: "There is no place amiss for prayer. I will that men pray everywhere.” Wherever we may find ourselves there is a way open heavenwards. Jonah was at the bottom of the sea and yet out of the depths he cries to God. What a situation to be in! How could anyone pray in such a place? The answer is that we can pray to the Lord wherever we are. Time and place and situation are no barrier to our prayers, only unconfessed sin will prevent the Lord from hearing us The Psalmist says "If I had cherished sin in my heart the Lord would not have heard me.” (Psalm 66 verse 18)
Daniel prayed in the lions' den. The Lord Jesus prayed on a mountain, and in a garden and on the cross. Paul prayed by a river, in a prison and on a storm-tossed ship. The apostle John prayed on a lonely island in the Mediterranean Sea as one outcast for his faith. And here we have Jonah praying inside a great fish. Christian friend, do not allow anything or any situation prevent you from praying. Christians must above all be praying people.
Now we move from the situation to our second point which is THE ONE IN CONTROL of the situation. All of this was the work of a loving but righteously angry God. In verses 3 and 4 Jonah prays: "YOU hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas ... I have been banished from YOUR sight."
Here we discover that God disciplines those He loves. Sometimes He will use the ordinary trials of life to turn us back to Him. In Jonah's case He used created things to chasten him. Jonah was running away from God's will and so God intervened in a dramatic way to stop him. David also experienced the disciplining hand of God as we read in Psalm 39 verses 9 to 11: "I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for YOU are the one who has done this. Remove YOUR scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of YOUR hand. You rebuke and discipline men for their sin ..."
Although God's disciplining of Jonah was severe it was the discipline of love. The purpose was to restore Jonah to the place of obedience. God was in control of the situation because He had brought it about. It was
God who raised the storm and it was God who prepared the great fish to swallow his reluctant servant.
Perhaps you are going through a time of experiencing God's discipline in your life. Listen to the words of Hebrews chapter 12 verses 5 to 7: "Have you forgotten the word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? "
If you are under God's discipline, respond to it. Call on Him as Jonah did and be restored. Read the rest of Hebrews chapter 12 and be encouraged!
And the third thing we discover in the prayer of Jonah is the EFFECT of it all upon him. He feels he has been cast out of God's sight and is facing certain death. Here is a man who has known what it is to have a real and living relationship with God, but who now feels as though he has been banished from God's sight. Separation from God is an awful thing. It means separation from the source of eternal life. It means separation from His love, and it is eternal in its consequence unless we turn to Christ for salvation.
On the cross, as He took upon Himself our sins, the Lord Jesus cried, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? ” He went through this separation so that we need never experience it. I must ask you, are you separated from God and still in your sin? Perhaps your feelings are being expressed in this prayer of Jonah. If they are, then turn to God in repentance and place your faith in Christ who gave His own life so that you could be reconciled to God.
For the Christian there is the promise that there is nothing in earth or heaven, no power or authority that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Even when we are disobedient His love is sure. But we will experience His discipline.
Finally in verse 9, at the end of Jonah's prayer we have a note of real hope: "But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord.” Here there is not only hope but now there is obedience and the renewal of his vows as God's prophet. He is saying to God in effect, now I WILL go to Nineveh according to your command. At that moment Jonah's fellowship with God was restored and we read in verse 10: "And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah on dry land."
May this prayer of Jonah speak to you in your situation.